Savages by Don Winslow

Savages by Don Winslow was a really fun read.  The characters were hilarious, the writing was quick and witty, and there was always something about to go down on the next page. 

Oh, Oliver Stone, I love you but the movie adaptation, while fun to watch, was missing a couple of elements.  Firstly, I was hoping that O would be a little less hippy and a little more dippy.  Because actress Blake Lively had put away her gossiping, traveling pants and played such a phenomenal (though small) part in The Town, I was actually pretty excited when I saw she was cast as Ophelia, the lovable derp who ate too much, shopped too much, and whose most pressing issue was typically whether or not there were batteries in her vibrator.  For example,one of my favorite parts in the book, that they ended up not including in the film, was when she and Esteban spend time bonding over reality TV while she's being held hostage.  Oh and O was supposed to have mermaids tattooed on her arm.  Just saying.

Secondly, I cannot stand this guy so everyone please stop putting him in movies.  What, is it in his contract that he has to wear that stupid hat all the time?

Thirdly, the ending ruined what was overall a decent adaptation and I wish I could have just chopped off the last ten minutes or so and left them in the desert to die like they were supposed to.

Some great moments in the movie:

• Benicio Del Toro as Lado taking a sip of his Starbucks iced latte while dead people lay strewn around him
• Benicio Del Toro's hair
• Salma Hayek as Elena.  She did a fantastic job in my opinion and really sold it as the matriarch trying to prove herself as jefe in a man's game
• Salma Hayek's hair
• John Travolta as Dennis.  I couldn't believe how much I loved his acting skills in this movie.  Say what you will about Travolta, this guy can really play a douchebag.  Favorite quote: "You stabbed a federal agent!" 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Like one who, on a lonely road,

Doth walk in fear and dread,

And, having once turned round, walks on,

And turns no more his head;

Because he knows a frightful fiend

Doth close behind him tread.

-Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner"

I faced a plethora of choices when selecting the movie to watch for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. After reviewing some of the adaptations, I decided to go with Kenneth Branagh's 1994 version, as it seemed to be the most consistent with the actual book and featured Helena Bonham Carter and Robert De Niro which peaked my curiosity.  Furthermore,  I wanted a film that would capture Frankenstein's monster as the philosophical, heart wrenching, misunderstood creature Shelley portrayed, instead of the grunting (though still lovable) freak of nature popularized in early cinema.
The movie got off to a good start with the setting of the ship trapped in the freezing Arctic, as this was essential to the narrative of the entire novel.  I could have done without the musical score and half of the scenes of Frankenstein frolicking around with Elizabeth through various fields and parlor rooms, but these were minor annoyances, which would be done with soon enough.
Branagh, being king of the Shakespeare movies in the 90s, did a fantastic job in my opinion, really demonstrating the madness of Frankenstein's scientific obsessions in the moment and then his disgusting cowardice as he was quick to reanimate it and quit it shortly afterwards.  Plus, as Shelley didn't go into much detail as to the workings of Frankenstein's laboratory, I enjoyed the cinematic vision of water, electric eels, levers and pulleys, electricity, and fire as his experiments were created. 
But on to the real victory of this movie: De Niro as Frankenstein's monster.  I know, I know, I was skeptical at first, but this man nearly had me in tears as he portrayed this sensitive, misunderstood misfit who's only want in life was to have a friend.  Even when I tried to brace myself for the scene when he was brutally cast out from the family's cottage in the woods, my heart practically broke in two as I watched him sob alone in despair afterwards.  While reading the book, I wanted nothing more than to tear anyone limb from limb who was hurtful to this creature, although I still have a soft spot in my heart for Justine, whose low status and innocence could only end in tragedy.
All in all, I was very pleased with this adaptation.  I even loved the added twist when Frankenstein reanimates Elizabeth and I am one of THOSE people who hates when screenplays divert from the book (seriously I am probably the most annoying person to see a movie with if I've read it).  Plus I have to say Helena Bonham Carter plays a mean dancing corpse.  While other versions have succeeded in bringing the campiness or the horror of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to the screen, I will always lean towards those that choose to bring to light one of the greatest cautionary tales of all time.